Zeldapedia:Administrator Constitution
Preamble We, the Administrators of Zeldapedia, in order to manage a more perfect encyclopedia, establish a fair and impartial justice system for all wiki users, ensure tranquility within the wiki, provide for the common defense of all wiki users in disputes, promote the general welfare of the wiki's health and appearance, and protect the basic rights of all users of the wiki, do ordain and establish this Constitution to govern the Administrators of Zeldapedia. Article I: Administrator Rights This Article shall detail the full rights of users with Administrator powers. A comprehensive description of each of the powers associated with Administrator status can be found below. While normal users can do most things on the wiki (reading, editing, etc.), Administrators have a few additional functions at their disposal. These additional functions are: *Deleting and undeleting pages, page histories, and uploaded files. *Locking (protecting) a page so it cannot be edited or renamed by users without admin rights. *Blocking IP addresses or user names from editing; and very quick "rollback" of undesirable edits. *Editing the interface by changing system messages and skins. A bureaucrat can make other users into bureaucrats or administrators on their own wiki. However, he or she is not currently able to remove admin access from any user; please contact one of the community staff if you need that done. Some Wikia staff members have full access to all Wikia. They will be shown in Special:Listusers/staff on any wiki. Wikia janitors have limited administrator access to all Wikia for cleanup purposes. These users will be shown on Special:Listusers/janitor on any Wikia. Please see the Central Wikia contact page for details on how to contact Wikia staff. For more info on user rights, see Help:User access levels. Section I: Deleting a Page #Click the delete or delete this page link on the page you want to delete. (If you are using the monobook skin with English as your default language, you can use the shortcut alt+d.) #You will be shown a page with a box to type in the reason for deletion, and a confirm box. This page will give you a warning if the page has more than one revision in its history. If something looks like nonsense but has a page history, check the history before deleting it! The revision you are looking at could be just a vandalised version of a real article. #Type your reason for deletion in the box provided. If it is a very short page, the box will contain the page text. For pages that are obviously vandalism, you may wish to leave the full text as the reason. In other cases, you should specify why you are deleting it. (For example, "this page is not about the subject of this wiki" or "this page is a copyright violation".) #After you have deleted the page, check to see if it has a talk page. If it does, delete this too. #If the page is being deleted because it should not exist, check that nothing links to it to prevent it being created again. #Follow any other guidelines for deleting page on your wiki, which may include archiving a deletion discussion. Section II: Deleting an Image #Check that you really want to delete the image! Image deletion is not reversible, so please be careful when doing this. #Click on the image to be deleted, or follow the image link (for example, "Image:Example.jpg"), which will take you to the image's description page. #To delete all revisions of an image, click "delete all revisions of this image" where it appears in the image history. You may also click "delete" at the top of the page the same way you might for an article. #To delete an older revision of an image, you must click the del link which appears next to that revision of the image. #:If there is more than one revision of an image, clicking the "Delete all revisions of this image" will do exactly that. You can not delete the most recent one without deleting all older copies as well, and also deleting the image description page. If you would like to delete only the most recent revision, you must revert to an earlier revision first. #After clicking Delete all revisions of this image, you will see a confirmation screen similar to that used for page deletion. The deletion will be logged at . Again, remember image deletion is not reversible! #If the image has a talk page, delete this too. Section III: Undeleting a Page Pages can be undeleted for as long as they are in the archive. This archive is occasionally cleared out. #To restore a page that has not been recreated, look for a message on the page telling you how many deleted revisions there are. To restore a page that has been recreated, this message will appear when you view the page history. (You can also type the full URL to undelete; for example, http://www.wikia.com/index.php?title=Special:Undelete&target=Foo to undelete Foo.) #Click on this to go to a page which displays the deleted revisions. You can look at each revision separately, and choose whether to undelete all revisions (the default) or selected ones. #To undelete all revisions, click the restore button which appears on the confirmation page. (Undeletion occurs as soon as you click this; there is no further confirmation screen or a place to type a reason.) #To undelete only selected revisions, select the revisions you wish restore with the checkboxes next to each revision, and then click the restore button. If you do not undelete all revisions, the log will record how many you did restore. #To view a deleted page without undeleting it, click on the timestamp of the version you wish to see. This will allow you to view that version of the page without restoring it. Section IV: Protecting or Unprotecting a Page or Image Pages may be protected from editing by anyone other than administrators. Please check to see that you are following the wiki's policies! It is a common mistake to protect pages unnecessarily; remember that protection should only be used to stop vandalism or edit wars. Main pages do not need to be protected unless they are consistently targets of vandalism. #Click the protect or protect this page link. It is a common mistake to protect pages unnecessarily. (If you are using the monobook skin, you can use the shortcut alt+=.) #:If you are protecting an image, click "protect" on the image description page. When an image is protected, both the page and the image are protected. The image description page will be protected, and non-sysops will not be able to revert the image to an earlier version, or upload a new version over it. #You will see a confirmation screen. Enter the reason for protection in the box, check the confirm box and press confirm. This will be logged at . (Please check this log occasionally to see if there are any pages where protection should be lifted, as it does not expire automatically.) #If your wiki has a template that marks the page as protected, place this template on the page. (If your wiki does not have one, consider making one! This is helpful for new editors who may not understand what is happening or how to request that a protected page be changed.) Unprotection is done in exactly the same way. Section V: Editing a Protected Page Click edit this page in the normal way. The only difference is the warning at the top of the page reminding you the page is protected. Please check whether your wiki has a protection policy before doing this; it is discouraged to leave a page locked to administrator editing only unless there is a strong reason for it. Section VI: Block a User or IP Please check whether your wiki has a policy on this! Remember that blocks should only be used to prevent damage to the wiki, and should be used as a last resort. #Click the block link that appears next to the IP or username in recent changes or go to . #If you went directly to , fill in the name or IP of the user you want to block in the first field. #:To block a range of IPs, enter the range in this field instead. If you do not know how to do this, please read m:Range blocks. If you need help right away because of high-speed vandalism attacks, contact a staff member for assistance. #Fill in the length of the block in the second either from the dropdown menu or, if you select "other", for some other appropriate length according to your wiki's blocking policy. Do not block shared or dynamic IP addresses for a long time, because the user you wished to block will not be using it for long, but other innocent users may. #Add the reason for the block in the third field. This reason should explain to the user why they are blocked according your wiki's blocking policy. Remember that other users may be innocently affected by the block and will see this message, so do not put anything offensive, confusing or vague as the reason. #Click the block this user button. This will be logged at and the user will appear in the until the block expires. Section VII: Unblock a User, IP or Range #Go to and find the user you want to unblock. #:If you want to undo an autoblock on a user with the same IP address as a blocked user, you will need to know the number assigned to the block, which will show up in the block message when the user tries to edit. You do not need to know the user's IP address, but simply unblocking the username will not lift the block. #Click the unblock link next to the user, IP, or range you wish to unblock. If a range is blocked, you need to unblock the whole range. It isn't possible to unblock a specific IP from that range. #Fill in the reason for the unblock on the confirmation page. This will be logged at and the user will be immediately unblocked. Section VIII: Using Sysop Revert Any user can remove vandalism from a page, but administrators have a rollback button to make this easier. To revert the edits of one user to the last version by the previous author: #Click rollback on the page history, the user contribution list, or on the diff page. Your revert will be marked as a "minor edit" and given the automatic edit summary Reverted edits by X to last version by Y. #In cases of large scale vandalism that flood recent changes, you may use "bot rollback". Add &bot=1 to the end of the URL used to access a user's contributions. For example, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Special:Contributions&target=Vandal&bot=1. When the rollback links on the contributions list are clicked, the revert as well as the original edit that you are reverting will both be hidden from the default Recentchanges display. Section IX: Merging Page Histories Merging page histories is a means of fixing cut and paste moves where the histories do not overlap. This action is not reversible, so please do not attempt it unless you understand the procedure. #Decide which title the merged article should have. For example, take two pages, "Bird Seed" and "Birdseed". In our example, say it's "Birdseed". Delete the article currently at this title. (You should provide as the reason for deletion "merging page history" or something similar.) #Move the other page to that new title. (So, move "Bird Seed" to "birdseed".) #Delete the page. ("Birdseed"—which had the content you moved from "Bird Seed".) #Undelete the page. The deleted revisions from both pages will now be available to restore. Section X: Editing the Interface Admins can change the wording of the user interface messages by editing the automatically-protected pages in the MediaWiki namespace. You can see a list of these messages at You can also, change the design of the interface, or "skin", at MediaWiki:Monobook.css. Please note that changing some pages, such as MediaWiki:monobook.css and MediaWiki:monobook.js may make the site unusable without help restoring it; please be careful in implementing changes if you are not sure what you are doing. Article II: Rules Pertaining to Administrator Status This Article shall detail the boundaries of users with Administrator powers. Details of how far the jurisdiction of Administrator powers extends shall be detailed within the Sections below. Section I: Basic Boundaries of Administrator Powers Administrators should not use their Administrator powers to settle editing disputes; for example, to lock a page on a version he or she prefers in an editing dispute that isn't vandalism. Administrator powers should be used to help keep the wiki clear of vandalism, spam, and users who make malicious edits, but not for simple disagreements between users acting in good faith. Ideally an Administrator shouldn't be considered "in charge." The ideal Administrator is just someone who is trusted to have a few extra buttons and to use them for the benefit of the wiki. Remember, being an Administrator is no big deal. Section II: Code of Conduct Toward Normal Users of the Wiki As representatives of the wiki, Administrators are to be on their best behavior at all times. They are to serve as a fair and impartial judge to settle disputes on the wiki, but must remain calm and polite at all times. Offensive language or sarcasm is not to be employed against the users by any Administrator under any circumstances. Any disagreement between an Administrator and a normal user of the wiki shall be conducted in a calm, rational discussion. Should the user attempt to escalate an argument after repeated polite gestures toward them on the part of the Administrator to resolve the dispute, he or she may then be considered for a reprimand befitting the situation. Administrators found to violate this code however may qualify for reprimand depending on the situation and his or her actions in that situation. Section III: Code of Conduct Toward Other Administrators of the Wiki As described for the Code of Conduct Toward Normal Users of the Wiki, Administrators shall also follow a Code of Conduct Toward Other Administrators of the Wiki. The wiki's Administrators are all equals who are to work in unison with one another as a solid group working toward a common purpose, that purpose being the creation and management of a more perfect encyclopedia of the Zelda universe. Administrators are to treat one another with dignity, respect, and friendliness at all times. There will be no offensive language or sarcasm directed from one Administrator to another, as they are partners in representing the wiki. Any disagreement between one Administrator and another shall be resolved in a calm, rational discussion where the sole aim will be to resolve the issue at hand without the situation degenerating into a large, out-of-proportion argument. In short, there shall be an understanding between all Administrators to treat one another with politeness and friendliness. Any breach of this code will qualify the Administrator in question to be reprimanded. Article III: Procedure for Granting of Rollback or Administrator Powers This Article shall describe in detail the procedure for granting Rollback or Administrator powers. Details of the process shall be given in the Sections below, and this process shall keep in check the ability of Administrators to empower normal users of Zeldapedia. Article IV: Consequences of Violation of the ZAC This Article shall detail the consequences of different violations of the ZAC. Individual offenses and their corresponding consequences shall be detailed in the Sections below. Article V: Procedure for Administrator Removal From Office This Article shall lay out the procedure for removing from office an Administrator found guilty of repeated offenses against the ZAC. The process shall be described step-by-step in the Sections below. Article VI: Encyclopedia Content and Format This Article shall deal with the content and format of Zeldapedia's articles. Various topics such as links, formatting, content, theories, and other issues related to the makeup of Zeldpaedia's articles shall be described in the Sections below. Article VII: Procedure for Amending the ZAC This Article shall describe the process for amending the ZAC if there should come a day when it necessitates changes to meet the demands of the times. A step-by-step process for amending the document shall be detailed in the Sections below. Article VIII: Ratification This Article shall deal with the ratification and authorization of the ZAC. In the Sections below, such issues as the necessary qualifications for the ratification of the document as well as the signatures of agreement for all existing and future Administrators shall be included. Section I: Procedure for Ratification of the ZAC In order for the ZAC to take effect, the resolution must be approved by no less than 3/4 of the Administrators of Zeldapedia. With the necessary percentage of approval, the ZAC shall take immediate effect and shall henceforth govern the actions of Zeldapedia's Administrators and how they will conduct themselves as representatives of Zeldapedia and as preservers of Zeldapedia's integrity and image. Section II: Signatures Upon ratification of the ZAC, any and all users with Administrator powers must signature this document below. Any new Administrators must also agree to signature this document in order to signal their understanding of Administrator procedures and to ultimately receive their Administrator powers. Signatures shall be taken below this Section.